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Review: 'THOMAS, FRED'
'The Beguilers'   

-  Label: 'Self Released'
-  Genre: 'Folk' -  Release Date: '12th April 2016'

Our Rating:
Pop quiz: 1.Q: What do A Dancing Beggar, Iron & Wine and Four Tet have in common? A: They are all male solo artists.

2. Q: Why is Fred Thomas a confusing artist name? A: Because this NOT a solo record and the singer is female not male.

Neither is the Fred Thomas of Michigan's Indie rock scene but an English composer/performer/producer/ arranger/teacher and general collaborator.

His website lists an impressive CV of musical and theatrical projects. He's evidently a multi-instrumentalist too since on this record he plays guitars, cello, viola da gamba, percussion, keyboards and double bass.

Crucially though, he doesn't sing so it's initially a bit confusing to hear the dulcet tones of a woman, Ellie Rose Rusbridge on vocals. Other contributors are Dave Shulman (clarinet), Liam Byrne (viola da gamba) and Malte Hage (electric bass).

The Beguilers consists of a dozen musical settings to breathlessly romantic poems by William Blake (x 4), James Joyce (x 2), Emily Bronte (x 2), Shakespeare, Walter Savage Landor, Francis Pilkinton and Thomas Carew.

Once you get properly orientated to what it is you are listening to, then this is an elegant collection of meticulously composed and beautifully executed pieces.

The hypnotic percussive effects on Blake's The Little Boy Lost and the mystical refrain of Joyce's Gentle Lady are highlights exemplifying influences ranging from traditional English folk music to the voices of Aka (or Bayake) pygmies!

With titles like Love To Faults Is Always Blind and Take, O Take Those Lips Away these unashamedly amorous odes ensure a consistently dreamy atmosphere is maintained throughout.

Fred Thomas - The Beguilers website
  author: Martin Raybould

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THOMAS, FRED - The Beguilers